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2015 Recipients of the Lee d'Anjou Volunteer of the Year Award and President's Award for Volunteer Service

Lee d'Anjou Volunteer of the Year Award

Christine Beevis Trickett (Calgary, AB)

Calgary-based editor Christine Beevis Trickett is the recipient of the 2015 Lee d'Anjou Volunteer of the Year Award. Christine has met all of the suggested requirements for this honour: she performed volunteer services over many years, took the initiative to identify and solve a critical problem or meet a need within Editors Canada, organized an activity that has a profound impact on the association, and inspired others to participate more fully within the association.

Christine has been a member and active volunteer of Editors Canada for almost 15 years. She was a founding member of the association's Nova Scotia twig, where she served as twig and professional development coordinator. She was also a key member of the team that organized the association's first conference in Atlantic Canada (Halifax, 2013), coordinating social media for the event while preparing for her own move to western Canada. Once in Calgary, she connected with local editors to found the association's first twig in the western provinces. She now serves as Editors Calgary's co-coordinator and was named association Volunteer of the Month in April 2015.

When she isn't volunteering with Editors Canada, Christine is manager of editorial services for the Nature Conservancy of Canada, a role that unites her passion for the environment with her lifelong interest in sharing stories about nature. She is responsible for website and blog content, helps with website redesign, edits and proofreads newsletters, and produces reports and articles, among many other tasks. She considers herself fortunate to work for an organization that does meaningful work.

President's Award

Benoit Arsenault (Quebec, QC)

Benoit Arsenault stepped up when the national executive council (NEC) needed help gathering and collating member feedback for the organization's rebranding process. In a short period of time, Benoit and other volunteers consolidated the feedback they received from a number of sources and presented a brief for NEC consideration at its November meeting. Benoit was instrumental in getting feedback from francophone members of Editors Canada and translating the final report. In addition, Benoit was a member of the Comité Agrément/Principes from 2013 to 2016 and of the francophone affairs committee from 2015 to 2016 (he served as chair during that time as well). Being an active member of Editors Canada gives Benoit the chance to meet other editors, make professional contacts, and learn new things about editing and the organization.

Now retired, Benoit worked as a French editor and comparative editor (English–French) for Natural Resources Canada for more than 32 years. He earned a degree in French linguistics and a certificate in professional writing and editing from Université Laval in Quebec City. He has been a member of Editors Quebec/Atlantic Canada since 2012.

Stacey Atkinson (Ottawa, ON)

Stacey Atkinson embodied the heart of Editors Canada through her enthusiasm and diligent work as the volunteer social media coordinator for the 2015 conference. A newer member of the association at the time, Stacey jumped right in and offered her help. Stacey ended up taking on more responsibilities than she originally signed up for, and despite there being fewer core volunteers than in previous years, she worked tirelessly to engage Editors Canada members in conversations on social media that were often clever and fun. As a result, she helped increase the conference's publicity and contributed to maintaining Editors Canada's great reputation.

When Stacey is not volunteering, she works as a freelance writer and editor. She is also the author of a novel, Stuck; her second book, Letters from Labrador, will be published in 2016.

Heather Ebbs (Carleton Place, ON)

Heather Ebbs is being recognized not only for her three decades of service to Editors Canada but also for her efforts to help launch the third edition of Editing Canadian English (ECE). Heather has served Editors Canada at the local and national level since 1985, including as president from 1990 to 1992. In the past four years alone, she has been involved in the certification, communications and marketing, and publications committees. It is with the third committee that Heather's help was instrumental in saving a project at a key stage. While the publications committee was in the midst of recruiting volunteers to write the text for ECE, both the co-chair and editor-in-chief had to step away from the committee. Heather accepted an invitation to help and became a faithful and stalwart supporter of the project, not only finding writers and keeping them motivated, but also offering input and advice on all sorts of issues. Without Heather's help, the third edition of ECE would not have launched on time in February 2015.

Heather has been working since 1985 as a freelance editor, writer, indexer, and teacher, and has been a mentor and leader to many people in the editing and indexing industries. Heather won the Tom Fairley Award for Editorial Excellence in 1986 and has been honoured by the Indexing Society of Canada, of which she is a past president, for her volunteer services.

Marsha Fine (Gatineau, QC)

Marsha Fine answered the call when the national executive council (NEC) asked for help gathering member feedback for the Editors Canada rebranding. In just eleven short weeks, Marsha worked with a group of volunteers to establish ways members could provide feedback, including through forums, emails, and social media. Marsha joined the task force because she believes that figuring out how to identify Editors Canada as an organization for both its members and the general public is an important discussion; she hoped that this process of gathering and consolidating member feedback would help Editors Canada continue to be a strong organization for editors. A member of Editors Ottawa–Gatineau for the past eight years, Marsha enjoys being part of the organization because it allows members to connect with one another and raises editors' professional level.

Marsha has worked in publishing, both in-house and freelance, for most of her professional life. She currently works as an in-house English writer and editor for the federal government.

Jennifer Glossop (Toronto, ON)

Jennifer Glossop has been an active member of Editors Canada since the 1980s, volunteering for years with certification. She is a President's Award winner in 2015 for her work gathering and consolidating feedback for the Editors Canada rebranding. Collaborating with a group of volunteers, Jennifer searched through many forums, including the email forum and Facebook, to gather member feedback on the organization. The short time frame and large amounts of feedback to gather and organize made this an arduous task, but Jennifer was both determined and generous with her time. This project was important to her because she felt that rebranding had become a divisive issue; she hoped this project would be a way to bring the diverse needs and opinions of Editors Canada members, including unsatisfied ones, to the attention of the national executive council.

Jennifer has had an illustrious career in publishing for the past 40 years. She's worked a both an in-house and a freelance editor for major houses and smaller publishers. Books she has edited have won the Governor General's Award and the Crime Writers of Canada Award, and have been nominated for the Giller Prize and the Books in Canada First Novel Award. A mentor for many young editors, she has also taught editing at Ryerson University, Simon Fraser University, and the Banff Centre.

Christine Hastie (St-Bruno, QC)

Christine Hastie was a member of Editors Canada for over 15 years as part of the Quebec/Atlantic Canada branch, volunteering as the branch chair for part of that time. When the national executive council (NEC) put out a call for bilingual volunteers to gather and organize member feedback for the organization's rebranding, Christine offered to lead the team. With a background in collaboration and facilitation, as well as great admiration for the volunteer efforts that have gone into Editors Canada over the years, Christine wanted to ensure that the group worked well together and that no volunteer efforts would be undermined by misunderstandings. Due to the group members' diversity of opinions and the large number of themes and ideas they encountered in the feedback, the project was challenging. Christine and the other volunteers worked energetically and with professionalism to produce a bilingual report for NEC consideration. Christine's and the other members' efforts highlight her belief that "great achievements are possible with a spirit of openness and collaboration." The NEC is grateful to Christine for leading this project.

Christine has been editing for over 35 years and currently works for Veterans Affairs Canada. She has given presentations on collaboration to Editors Canada members, and has begun facilitating groups that enhance well-being through storytelling and appreciative inquiry.

Breanne MacDonald (Mississauga, ON)

Breanne MacDonald is a 2015 President's Award winner for her excellent work on two large Editors Canada projects. Although she was already heavily involved with the organization as the Editors Hamilton-Halton coordinator, Breanne became a volunteer coordinator for the 2015 conference. She soon assumed greater responsibilities, and did so gladly and confidently, taking on most of the work associated with the venue, as well as helping to organize the print program and the vendor fair. In addition, Breanne volunteered as a member of the rebranding taskforce, which was responsible for collecting and analyzing feedback on the new Editors Canada brand. She felt it was important to join the taskforce to ensure that members would feel comfortable expressing how they felt about the organization, even if their opinions differed from the majority. Breanne showed great leadership and much efficiency in both of her roles.

A member of Editors Canada since 2010, Breanne now sits on the national executive council. Breanne works as an in-house proofreader and has been editing since 2010. She specializes in proofreading marketing material and documents that have a mix of graphics and text. She is a graduate of Ryerson University's publishing program.

Patricia MacDonald (Howie Centre, NS)

Patricia MacDonald was a pillar of support for the Editors Canada 2015 conference. Although she was already heavily involved with the organization as chair of the volunteer management committee, she offered her services to recruit and manage the conference volunteers. She was no stranger to this role, having been on the organizing committee for the 2013 conference. This time she had fewer volunteers and more responsibility, but she worked tirelessly and cheerfully. In addition to her volunteer coordination duties, she assisted with the conference's social media. She worked with other volunteers to engage Editors Canada members online in interesting ways, publicizing the conference and strengthening Editors Canada's reputation as a collaborative and fun organization.

Patricia joined Editors Canada shortly after beginning her freelance editing career in 2000. She specializes in copy editing and proofreading sports memoirs, physical education and kinesiology textbooks, and guidebooks for coaches and athletes.

Dani Pacey (North York, ON)

Dani Pacey's outstanding dedication to Editors Toronto, especially in her role as member relations chair, has earned her respect and gratitude from branch members and the executive. Dani has sat on the Toronto branch executive since 2012; when she moved into the role of member relations chair, she became the face of the branch and built relationships with its members. Never content with the status quo, Dani is always thinking bigger and better, suggesting new and more exciting ways to engage with members. She's done it all—organizing holiday events, running monthly programs, recruiting volunteers, and supporting new members. Dani has also been a strong figure of support for the branch executive by offering advice and help with issues even when they're outside her portfolio. Editors Toronto feels lucky to have Dani as a member!

Alexandra Peace (Canning, NS)

Alexandra Peace likes to contribute to any organization she joins, which is why she volunteered as recording secretary when the national executive council (NEC) needed one for its meetings. It was a great fit for her: she wanted to learn how Editors Canada is run, and the position provided a good opportunity for travel. When the NEC decided to cancel its quarterly meeting in March and replace it with monthly teleconferences and one three-hour videoconference, Alex cheerfully worked around the changes. She "attended" and recorded all meetings, as well as produced and finalized the minutes, which allowed the NEC to continue working. In addition to this role, Alex is the new co-coordinator of Editors Nova Scotia. She enjoys her volunteer work because she finds it fun, and she feels like she is making a contribution.

Alex is a freelance editor, proofreader, and indexer. She works from her home in rural Nova Scotia and has taken courses on editing and indexing from Ryerson University.

Jean Rath (Ottawa, ON)

Jean Rath joined Editors Ottawa–Gatineau in 2012 when she was starting out as a freelance copy editor. She began volunteering because she had the time and wanted to meet other people in the industry. For two years she served as the branch's membership co-chair, and last September she joined the team that gathered and collated feedback for the Editors Canada rebranding. In just eleven weeks she and the team went through various platforms, consolidating and organizing the vast number of comments into a report in both English and French for the national executive council (NEC). This task absorbed more time than initially envisioned, and the NEC appreciated Jean's generosity and hard work on the project. Jean enjoyed the experience of working as part of a team and dealing with words outside of editing.

After editing for friends for years, Jean now runs her own freelance editing business called Thought-Sight Consulting. She's completed Ryerson University's copy editing course and has training through Editors Ottawa–Gatineau branch seminars. Jean is grateful to Editors Canada and its members for their help and advice.